mom life

Happy Memorial Day! While we enjoy having an extra day off work please remember to take a second and say a quick prayer to the brave men and women who selflessly gave their lives for our country. Their sacrifice is what helps keep us free and we forever owe them gratitude. Say a prayer for the loved ones left behind because everyday for them is Memorial Day.

Another Monday but this time I am not back at work thanks to a long holiday weekend! I can’t begin to describe how much I needed an extra day. I am still adjusting to being back in the clinic full-time and my mind was blown a bit last week being on my own as a provider (eek!). I am soaking up some extra time with the family and preparing to have some friends over this afternoon!

Yesterday was a pretty great day if I do say so myself and I am dedicating my weekend recap to it. We got up early and decided to hit up the garage gym for a workout. One of the reasons I love having a home gym is that Chris and I can workout while the girls play outside. It’s a win-win! The weather was beautiful and we all had a great time.

After getting a few things done around the house and Bryn nap-evading we hit up the local water park for the first time. Oh my goodness – the girls had a blast! We are probably going to get a family pass because it is very close to our house (benefits of small town living) and I can see us spending a lot of time here this summer.

Today I am going to get a quick workout in before Chris hits the gold course. Tonight one of his work friends is coming over with his family so we are sure to have a good time! I hope you have something fun planned today and get to enjoy it with the people you care most about. See you back tomorrow!

Another Monday! We had a pretty great weekend over here. Last week it was pretty rainy here in Missouri so I was thrilled that the sun was shining all weekend long. I am totally digging these family-filled weekends and when it’s beautiful weather it’s an added bonus.

Saturday we got up and headed to the gym as a family. One of the gyms we frequent doesn’t have child care but does have “kids in sight” with a special room for exercising parents. The girls played while Chris and I broke a sweat! We hit the grocery store on our way home and officially knocked out the chores for the day. Bryn decided she was too cool for school and lounged on my bed wearing my shades.

Chris and I had a date night lined up to try out our new babysitter. We headed a bit out of town to Public House Brewing Company to try out their craft beer before heading to dinner. It was SUCH a fun place! The weather was perfect for a beer flight outside and some corn hole. They also had bocci ball and a giant chess set. I foresee many more trips out there this summer. We headed to a local restaurant after and it was absolutely delicious with probably the best spinach artichoke dip we’ve ever had.

Sunday morning was beautiful and called for coffee on our back deck. We have a wooded area behind our house and I really love the peacefulness of the greenery. One of the benefits for living in the middle of the woods I guess! We packed up and headed to church mid-morning and I am happy to say that both girls were wonderful. It’s been a change not having a nursery but the girls are adapting nicely!

The rest of the day was spent gearing up for another week! I am starting to do a little homeschooling at night for Emmalyne until she starts a private school this fall. I got our notebook ready for the week and she is pretty pumped for her “homework”. We also spent awhile at the park where Bryn attempted to give me no less than 1000 heart attacks. She’s quite the tiny ninja!

Before signing off for the day I had to share Emmie’s “friends” with you. Em came and got me after her quiet time and said she had to show me something. She preceded to tell me how she tucked all of her friends in for THEIR nap. I can’t get enough of this kid!

I hope you have a fabulous start to the week and that your weekend was enjoyable. What was one thing you did this weekend?

Happy Monday friends! I am officially BACK and hoping to get back into routinely writing in this space. I am so pumped because I have truly missed my online community and enjoy writing here. Thanks for sticking with me through the thick of things! I hope everyone had a great Mother’s Day yesterday and were able to celebrate all the moms in your life. We spent the weekend in St. Louis and it couldn’t have been more perfect.

Saturday morning we had to drive up to STL to drop Chris’ mom off at the airport. We had planned on making it a weekend since we are about a 2 hour drive away. So we got up early, dropped Yon off, and headed straight to the zoo. One of the things I love most about about STL is that there are so many free things to do and the zoo is one of those things. We paid $15 for parking but considering the fact that each adult at the Phoenix zoo was $18 we figured this was a small price to pay. Tip: there is plenty of free street parking around the zoo so if you get there early in the day you can definitely score a spot.

We were pretty impressed with the zoo itself. There was a wide variety of exhibits and the zoo itself was very clean. Emmie’s favorite was the elephants and mine was the penguins. We even had a tag-along for our ice cream when a duck family came along.

We spent the night in town and got to watch the Kentucky Derby during dinner. Yesterday morning we got up, ate breakfast at the hotel, and headed back home. Chris hung a ton of stuff on the walls for me and the girls kept talking about Mother’s Day. I am so happy to be spending my weekends not worrying about studying and instead soaking up precious moments as a family of four. I am reminded every day how quickly these years are going with my girls and I plan to make them count.

I can’t help but share that photo of Bryn because it is just HER. Anyone who has met Little B knows that she is fiercely independent, wildly adventurous, and lives life LOUD. She is passionate in her feelings, firm in her convictions, and wants to do all the things. She hasn’t met a play structure she wasn’t willing to scale or a book she refused to read. Bryn goes from wild and crazy to nurturing and caring when taking care of her baby doll. She knows all the lyrics to every song on our CD player in the car and can’t help but dance when music is playing.

We kept things low key this weekend which ended up being absolutely perfect. On Saturday for her birthday we took Bryn to her first movie and saw “The Good Dinosaur” as a family. We all had an absolute blast. When we got home Emmie and I baked her cake and Emmie told everyone in our family how Bryn was “Birthday Girl Bryn”. We ate cake and opened presents and just enjoyed our family of four.

Dear sweet Bryn … we bring me so much JOY … and possibly a few gray hairs. I love the fire that is in your soul and I know you are going to surprise us all with the beauty that is your life. I am so blessed you chose me to be your mommy because you are perfection.

Long time no chat friends! I could begin by telling you how the entire family has been sick with the fall crud for the last week but I won’t. I could also tell you all about finishing my surgery rotation but I’ll save that for another day. Instead I want to tell you a story about my sweet little B …

Bryn is a girl who is constantly on an adventure. She climbs rock walls, dances on the edge of danger, and gleefully laughs from one area of destruction to the next. So it shouldn’t have surprised me as much as it did when she figured out how to climb out of her crib last week. In fact, I caught her heading downstairs to play at about 11:30 at night one night. Like a ninja should would escape silently which gave me heartburn. So we decided to cut our losses and get her a big girl bed.

We spent all day Saturday getting her room re-organized and bed put up. We said a silent prayer that the night would be uneventful, and you know what? It WAS! It was great! She quietly played in her room until we got her in the morning and all was right in the world. That is, until we approached nap time.

We knew that nap time would be dicey because Bryn is inherently strong-willed. I sat in her room for awhile but then decided to sneak out and lock the door as was the plan. She cried for a second but then all was silent. I thought we had won. Little did I know what was coming. About an hour after she had quieted down I walked by her room and hear the beeping of her nightlight. I figured she just needed to be put back into bed. Nothing could have prepared me for the sight I would see upon entering her room.

You guys … I am pretty sure my carpet will never be the same. She emptied an ENTIRE tub of Triple Paste on herself and every reachable surface of her room. Everywhere I looked I found more. If you have any tips for getting that stuff out of things I am all ears! In the meantime all I can do is laugh and chalk it up as 10,128 points for her otherwise I might be in the fetal position in the corner crying. And nobody has time for that.

Instead I will embrace this is one of those life’s memories we are going to look back upon with laughter and tears in our eyes. And hopefully it brought you some joy as we start this fresh new week!

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Hi everyone! My name is Madeline and welcome to my blog! I write about balancing healthy living, my family, and life as a Physician Assistant student. While I love a good HIIT workout I also love cupcakes and buffalo wings.